QCOSTARICA – In the last three days, 107 people lost their lives in Costa Rica due to covid-19, that is, an average of 35 every 24 hours; more than one person every 60 minutes, according to the latest report from the Ministry of Health, released this Monday.
As of Friday, Costa Rica accumulated 5,949 lives lost due to complications derived from covid-19. By Monday, the number rose to 6,056 by Monday.
The Ministry of Health reported 42 deaths for Saturday (September 18), 32 for Sunday (September 19), and 33 for Monday, September 20.
If we go a few more days back, to last Wednesday (September 15) when the Ministry of Health reported 38 deaths, and 30 deaths each day on Thursday, (September 16) and Friday (September 17), for a total of 205 fatalities associated with covid-19.
More than any other single category or pathology ie traffic accidents, heart attacks, cancer, etc, and even violent deaths, in a seven-day period.
The Ministry of Health reports the age range of the 6,056 deaths from day-old babies to 103-year-old adults:
- 56% (3,400) of the deceased were older adults (65 and over)
- 43% (2,637) are people between 18 and 64 years old
- 0.3% (19) are adolescents and children
The average is 66.4 years.
The high number of daily deaths was registered precisely in the first three days (Friday, Saturday and Sunday) of the so-called Vaccination, a massive campaign of 12 hours a day to apply vaccines, both first and second doses, which did not have the assistance expected by the Caja Costarricense de Seguro Social (CCSS).
Although 140,111 people were vaccinated in the three days, the Caja officials had, on occasions, to go out to look for people in neighborhoods, grocery stores, and house to house to find arms to inoculate. The strategy could be intensified to reach the goal of 500,000 people with their first dose in ten days.
While this effort continues, the balance of infected people who required hospital care was 1,325 this Monday, with 475 in Intensive Care Units (ICU), below the high of 1,363 and 489 respectively reported on Thursday, still well above the capacity to provide optimal care, which is 359 in ICU.
In fact, on Friday the first transfer of a non-covid patient from a public hospital, in this case, the Max Peralta de Cartago, to a private medical center was carried out, within a plan to relieve the public health system, pressured by the pandemic and other pathologies.
Between Friday and Monday, 5,490 infections were added to the general count that already exceeds half a million infected (510,653). Of that number, 411,679 people have already recovered (80.6%). There are thus 91,918 active cases to this day (19.4%), according to Health data.
CCSS workers will continue the Vaccination until Friday from 8 am to 7 pm, and Saturday and Sunday from 8 am to 8 pm, to give workers more options.
The campaign will conclude next Sunday (September 26) and the list of available sites can be consulted on the Caja’s website.
